Illustration Chronicles tells a history of illustration, one story at a time. It traces the pictures, people, and moments that have shaped how we see the world around us. Every story begins with both a year and a work, opening out into the wider stories and ideas that surround them.
Rather than following a chronological path, these stories are grouped by theme, reflecting the breadth and diversity of the discipline. These themes bring together a selection of works from across the past two centuries, inviting you to discover the threads that connect them.
Satire — Introduction
001 – John Leech and Punch Magazine
002 – Richard Doyle
003 – Kawanabe Kyōsai
004 – Leslie 'Spy' Ward
005 – Phil May
006 – José Guadalupe Posada
007 – Al Hirschfeld
008 – David Levine
009 – Richard Thompson
Music – Introduction
010 – Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
011 – Einar Nerman
012 – Alex Steinweiss
013 – Klaus Voormann
014 – Guy Peellaert
015 – Gerald Scarfe
016 – John Craig
017 – Kate Gibb
018 – Jamie Hewlett
Animals – Introduction
019 – Utagawa Kuniyoshi
020 – Anonymous Namazu-e Artists
021 – John Gould
022 – Louis Wain
023 – Benjamin Rabier
024 – George Studdy
025 – Robert Lawson
026 – Quentin Blake
War – Introduction
027 – William Simpson
028 – Fred W. Rose
029 – Käthe Kollwitz
030 – Louis Raemaekers
031 – James Montgomery Flagg
032 – "Recording Britain"
033 – Ronald Searle
034 – Linda Kitson